Scientists find a “golden egg” at the bottom of the ocean – “It’s a strange thing”

Researchers find a “golden egg” at the bottom of the ocean and are surprised. The organism must now be examined in the laboratory.

ALASKA – A smooth golden ball has been found deep on the bottom of the Alaskan seabed – and marine scientists admit they have no idea what it is, although they speculate it could be the “egg shell” of a mysterious creature.

The unusual, soft golden material was discovered last week by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which studies Earth’s oceans, atmosphere and coastal regions, during a mission to map unexplored deep-sea habitats off the coast of Alaska using a remote control device. Operating vehicles.

The “golden egg” at the bottom of the ocean surprises researchers

Scientists were amazed and excited by the discovery made on August 30, but they also openly admitted that they did not know what it might be, as the mission’s live broadcast showed. Viewers online joked it could be an alien or predator egg, or that it reminded them of a chocolate egg.

“It definitely has a big old hole in it,” one researcher said on the live stream. “Either something was trying to get in or something was trying to get out.”

Scientists puzzle over the ‘golden egg’, onlookers joke

While scientists puzzled over whether it was an “egg shell”, a “covered sponge” or a “coral”, some joined in the fun, joking: “I just hope that when we get in it, it’s nothing.” Outside… It’s like the beginning of a horror movie.

“If we can’t identify it with our collective knowledge, then it’s kind of weird,” said a member of NOAA’s ocean exploration team. “What kind of animal could make an egg shell like that?”

“Although this discovery is somewhat modest, it reminds us how little we know about our planet and how much we still have to learn and appreciate about our ocean,” Sam Candeo, ocean exploration coordinator at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), told the Washington Post. “. mail.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) acknowledged that the discovery “captured the imagination of many observers.” NOAA’s official research account said scientists are “trying to solve the mystery of the golden egg” and invited the public to send in their ideas.

Possibly “remains of an invertebrate egg shell.”

“At first glance, it could be the remains of an invertebrate egg shell, or perhaps a slightly misshapen sponge,” John Copley, professor of marine science and science communication at the University of Southampton, told The Washington Post after viewing the images. Thursday. He also tried to reassure the public, saying that the bullet was “certainly not something we should be concerned about.”

“Deep-sea discoveries like the egg still have the ability to attract people’s attention and spark a unique fascination, because the deep sea is as inaccessible as the sky and space,” Copley added. “We often find things in the deep sea that we haven’t seen before or don’t recognize right away because the deep sea is huge and it’s only in the last few centuries that we’ve explored what lives there, as opposed to what lives there.” Life on Earth.”

Copley said such discoveries help “renew our wonder at how wonderful nature is around us,” though he stressed that some “of the life forms we encounter every day are as strange and wonderful as anything we find in the deep sea.” “.

Object “confirms the diversity of life in the deep sea”

“Without detailed study and analysis of the preserved samples, we don’t know what this strange object is,” said Daniel Jones, deputy head of ocean bio-geosciences at the UK’s National Oceanographic Centre. “But it highlights the diversity of deep-sea life yet to be discovered and the importance of scientific exploration.”

Meanwhile, NOAA’s ocean exploration team hopes to solve the mystery surrounding the egg.

The team used a remote-controlled vehicle to “tickle” the egg, revealing that it had a soft, leather-like texture. The egg was then sucked out of the rock using a gentle suction machine for further examination.

The “golden egg” was brought to the surface

Although scientists were able to recover the ball from the ocean floor and return it to the surface, Candeo, NOAA mission coordinator, said: “We have not yet been able to identify it, other than the fact that it is of biological origin.” He added: “We probably won’t know more until we can get it into the laboratory.”

The dive is part of the Seascape Alaska 5 expedition that began Aug. 23 and will end Sept. 16 in the Gulf of Alaska aboard the NOAA ship Okeanos Explorer, according to NOAA, which is broadcasting the expedition live.

She added that the mission uses ROVs and multi-beam sonar mapping technology to explore depths ranging from 200 to 6,000 metres. The goal is to “explore deep-sea coral and sponge habitats as well as fish… and improve knowledge of past and potential geological hazards.”

Candeo said such discoveries were “exciting” and that the new species had the potential to open up “new sources of medical treatments, vaccines, food, energy and other societal benefits and insights.”

“Aren’t the deep seas wonderfully strange?” Candio added. “Who knows what we’ll discover next.”

We are currently testing machine translations. This article was automatically translated from English to German.

This article was first published in English on September 7, 2023 on “washingtonpost.com” was published as part of the collaboration, and is now also available in translation for readers of the IPPEN.MEDIA portals.